BMGThe long-in-the-works and star-studded T. Rex tribute album AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan and T. Rex finally got its official release today.
As previously reported, AngelHeaded Hipster is a 26-track collection that includes a rendition of the classic T. Rex hit “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” by U2 and Elton John, and as well as covers by Joan Jett, Todd Rundgren, Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, Soft Cell‘s Marc Almond, David Johansen, Nena and, separately, John Lennon‘s sons Julian and Sean, among many others.
The record also includes guest appearances from Steely Dan‘s Donald Fagen, longtime David Bowie keyboardist Mike Garson, MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, composer Van Dyke Parks and others.
The project was overseen by veteran tribute-album producer Hal Willner, who sadly died of COVID-19 in April at age 64. Willner worked on the album over the course of several years, in sessions held in New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, London, Paris and Berlin.
The album features a variety of songs penned by glam-rock pioneer Marc Bolan spanning from 1968 to 1977 that originally were recorded by his band T.Rex or its folk-rock predecessor group, Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The release of AngelHeaded Hipster comes just a couple of months before T. Rex is scheduled to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Bolan died in a September 1977 car crash at the age of 29.
Here’s the full track list:
Disc 1
“Children of the Revolution” — Kesha
“Cosmic Dancer” — Nick Cave
“Jeepster” — Joan Jett
“Scenescof” — Devendra Banhart
“Life’s a Gas” — Lucinda Williams
“Solid Gold, Easy Action” — Peaches
“Dawn Storm” — BØRNS
“Hippy Gumbo” — Beth Orton
“I Love to Boogie” — King Khan
“Beltane Walk” — Gaby Moreno
“Bang a Gong (Get It On)” — U2 featuring Elton John
“Diamond Meadows” — John Cameron Mitchell
“Ballrooms of Mars” — Emily Haines
Disc 2
“Main Man” — Father John Misty
“Rock On” — Perry Farrell
“The Street and Babe Shadow” — Elysian Fields
“The Leopards” — Gavin Friday
“Metal Guru” — Nena
“Teenage Dream” — Marc Almond
“Organ Blues” — Helga Davis
“Planet Queen” — Todd Rundgren
“Great Horse” — Jessie Harris
“Mambo Sun” — Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl
“Pilgrim’s Tale” — Victoria Williams with Julian Lennon
“Bang a Gong (Get It On) Reprise” — David Johansen
“She Was Born to Be My Unicorn/Ride a White Swan” — Maria McKee
By Matt Friedlander
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